Microkernels provide a minimal amount of software to be part of a kernel that executes in privileged mode of a processor. A microkernel leaves some aspects of a typical operating system, such as device drivers, to user-space processes, rather than including them as part of the kernel. Microkernels are generally thought of as more secure than standard kernels because their smaller size provides less area to be vulnerable to malicious software. However, any malicious software, such as a rootkit, that gains access to a microkernel will have complete control over all system memory.